Subject:Wood
Entries
Entry 1703
Now yo' take a woodpecker - now, he'll git up an' he'll peck a hole in a tree. Well now, yo' take dat sap [wood peckings] - dat inside whut he pick out dere, yo' take dat an' yo' kin powder it up an' yo' kin use hit fo' sickness. Yo' take dat wood he peck out dere an' yo' carry it home an' yo' keep it in a box or somepin, an'. it's lak if you have a toothache, yo' take one splinter[iil of dat, pick yore teeth until it bleeds. Well, yo' take dat blood den an' yo' wipe it on a silk piece of cloth. After yo' wipe it on a silk piece of cloth, yo' take dat little silk piece an' carry it an' put it in de fire - kinda put it right under de grate [under a brick] in de fireplace. When yo' put it under dere yo' speak two words, say, "Stay till." Don't nevah say nuthin else. Jest say, "Stay till, stay till [doomsday]." Well, now dat cures de toothache on yo'.
Entry 1704
A wood louse is good fo' yallah ja'ndice. Yo' take nine wood louse an' put it in sweet milk an' feed it to de person an' dat kill de yallah ja'ndice.
Entry 1705
A wood rat. You can take that rat's skin and dry it and make him eat it and that'll stop him from wetting the bed. [The more usual folklore remedy is eating a mouse prepared many ways (Nos. 6308-6309); similar cures being a head louse eaten (No. 6306), or drinking tea from "white droppings of a dog" (No. 6302) - FACI,2ed., 1965, p.289.] [New Orleans, La., (855), 1352:6.] [What is a hand? A hand is a magic helper, an object or act, which aids a person in obtaining a desire. Aladdin's lamp was not a hand because anyone could rub it to activate the indwelling spirit. Quite otherwise a hand concerns known user - it being dressed, powered for him alone, usually toward a single purpose.] [We have already examined many hands: the Black Cat Lucky Bone (pp.74-97); healing hands in Cure and Protection (pp.4lO-519); divining hands in Diagnosis (pp.165-217), particularly the talking hand, Jack (pp.190-193). Talking hand reminds me that hand has other names, among them - toby, guide, shield, roots, mojo, jomo (transposition of syllables in mojo), and hoodoo bag.] [Of interest are what I name battery hands - those that lose strength and must be recharged or they weaken and die. Recharging is called feeding and substances fed are whiskey, perfumes, urine and other liquids. Spirits do not eat solid food. A spirit of course never dies; it merely deserts its temporary dwelling place. Similarly, desertion happens to a lost hand - some informants believing the hand returns to its maker!] [A hand can become a fetish, even a part of oneself. Most instructive here are living hands - the unfortunate chicken (No. 205, p.58), and the two wandering snakes (No. 239, p.66.]
Entry 2055
From a lightnin'-struck tree yo' kin take a splin- ter an' go 'head an' boil it, an' put it in whiskey or somepin lak dat. An' dere any girl or somepin othah yo' love an' give her some of dat whiskey, dat will bring her to yo' - 'cause dat's fiah, bring her to yo'. [Hands also in margin-title Wood (2) Struck by Light- ning, p.514f.]
Entry 2849
They take a knife and form [carve] it.
(What do they do with that wooden doll?)
They also put it on mantelpiece [often used as altar], or either lay it out like somebody is dead and burn the candles on that. That's the way I saw it did once - just like somebody laying out dead, you see. And they say [that] makes a persons sick - see, they keep sick all the time and dry up. That's in the shape of a person, you see.
Entry 3830
[This is a brief note made of a rite on an untranscribed cylinder:] ["Wood sawyer, boiled with lard, makes salve to untie.] [Memphis, Tenn., (966), 1561:3.]
[I have divided this section into two subsections: EVERYDAY BLOOD and HER PRIVATE TIME. Neither subsection holds all material on its subject. Such mat- ters as drawing blood from a witch, the bleeding corpse, and others had to be classified elsewhere. Even menstrual blood will be found scattered throughout HOODO0.]
Entry 4864
Dey kin mess yuh up on dat. Dey take dat chew know at times, take yore undahpiece dat's been worn an' carry it tuh a lake or tuh a creek where dere's runnin' watah. An' den, if it's a straight pieceorifit'satwc piece, yo' know lak undahweah, an' yuh tie it on tuh a block [of wood]. An' den yuh put nine needles on dat same block an' nine pins. Let dem be goldeye nee- dles. An' turn dat ovahbo'd an' yuh got 'em dere.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat eat [it]. Dat's drivin' de person away.
Entry 5168
Yo' git de inside sole of a man's shoe. All right now. Yo' git some lightnin'-struck wood an' yo' take some sweet milk, an' yo' soak dat three days. Den yo' make a dress of dat [dressing or hand of wood and milk] an' yo' go tuh de crossroad where hit like dat, see [demonstrates a crossroad]. Den yo' call - git some salt.
[Here is an example of details often omitted in an interview.]
(Wait a minute! What do you mean you call?)
Call 'is name, say, "Ah wanta run So-an'-so." YO' HAVE TUH CALL 'EM TUH RUN "EM. Git chew some salt an' yo' make a dressin' of dat an' yo' bury dat. An' YO' TELL IT WHUT CHEW WANT IT TUH DO. An' evah - in about three days yo' go back there an' make yore dressin' an' tell it whut chew want it tuh do. DAT LIGHTNIN'-STRUCK WOOD GIT'S 'EM CONFUSED IN 'IS MIND. Yo' haVe tuh work 'is mind to do anythin' wit it. [This piece of wood dressed with lightning, milk and salt, 3 things, becomes a hand.]
Entry 5170
Take a man's shoe, right shoe. Take de measure of it an' put some new pins an' needles in it, nine of each. An' yuh take [up] de sill [saddle] of de do'. Yuh know, pull [up] de sill of de do'. An' yuh put it [tape measure] down dere, tack it down dere. An' he have tuh cross ovah it, yuh see, an' [to] git inside. Dat will keep a person stayin' aroun' home.[Informant repeats for good measure:] Yuh git a piece of new tape an' take de measure of [right] shoe. Take it from yuh an' bring it tuh yuh. An' den yuh take dat an' pin de needles an' pins tight all de Way tuh yuh, an' as yuh put 'em in call 'is name. Den yuh take de sill [saddle] of de do' up an' yuh tack it [tape] down an' leave it stay dere. When yuh move out'a dat house, yuh take it up an' carry it wit chew. Evahwhere yuh move yuh carry it wit chew.
Entry 5474
If dey wan' chew tuh leave town - if yo' givin' dem trouble an' dey Wan' chew tuh leave town, why dey'd ketch it [your track]. If yo' goin' dis way, dey'd ketch it disaway. Den dey would take dis dirt - take it an' put it in a new piece of home- spun. When yo' go tuh a graveyard, git chew two bran'- new teaspoons. Go tuh a graveyard wit two bran'-new tea- spoons. Git chew two teaspoonsfulla dirt offa two sinnahs graves. Well, yo' takes two pennies an' pay each one of dese sinnahs fo' de dirt. Well, yo' takes dat gunpowdah an' thundah-strucken wood, red peppah, an' mix it all tuhgethah. What ah mean thundah-strucken iw where lightning struck a tree. Well yo' take it an' divide it intuh two parts. Yo' put one in a red chunk bottle [bottle with long neck] an' bury it in de east, an' yo' put de othah one in a red chunk bottle an' yo' go tuh runnin' watah, an' yo' pitch it 'cross yore shouldah - turn yore back, pitch it 'cross yore shouldah. Befo' yo' pitch it 'cross yore shouldah, yo' say, yo' do dis, In de Name of de Father, an' de Son an' de Holy Ghost - fo' yo' tuh go an' nevah return. An' in three days time yo'll be left town, yo' can't stay. Yo'll tread dat watah until yo' drown.
(You say you put all that stuff in a red chunk bottle?)
In a red bottle - quart bottle [the ordinary brown beer or whiskey bottle one "chunks" or throws away.]
(Which shoulder do you throw that over?)
Ovah yore lef' shouldah.
Entry 5518
Yo' would go an' walk roun' yore house, roun' an' roun', an' take five - ah don' know much about it but dis is whut ah heard mah ole people say. Take five li'le - well, jis' take yo' five [wood] chips dat maybe yo' had cut sometime. Yo' know dat chew had cut 'em sometime dere. An' dis fellah evah who yo' thought had did dat... (Had planted this thing down.) Had planted it fo' yo', yo' burn dem [wood chips] an' git chew some of 'is tracks sure. Make sure dat it 'is tracks an' burn it [5 chips]. Put it in a cup or sompin an' put it where it kin git hot, an' jis' burn dat coal good - mix it wit dat dirt. An' some way or 'nothah jis' t'row where dat he kin git it on 'im - somewhere. Maybe jis' sprinkle it aroun' 'is baid or in 'is baid, an' dat won' bothah yo', so dey tell me. Ah don't know, ah nevah tried it.
(Well, what do you do with those five chips?)
Well, yo' burn 'em - yo' burn 'em an' mix 'em wit dis dirt, but yo' must be sure dat it's some dat he have cut offa somethin', an' yo' must be positive dat dat's 'is dirt dat he walked on.
(You mean you burn this track and these five chips?)
Yes, burn 'em an' sprinkle it somewhere roun' where he kin git tuh it, see.
Entry 5699
Dey take a person dat's goin' from yo'. Dey make a new paddle out of a shingle or a bo'd of any kind; jis' so dat chew make a paddle out of it - lak a spoon-lak, yo' know. Yo' carry it in yore pocket three days, knowin where dat party's track is, an' yo' ketch de sand out of de hollah of dere foot, SCoOP IT OVAH YO' LEF' SHOULDAH [see later]. Yo' pray dis prayah, it's de same thing, says, In de Name of God, return. An' go on. Throw de paddle ovah dere an' dey'll come back. [The preceding Words SCOOP IT OVAH YO' LEF' SHOULDAH mean that you kneel down behind the departing tracks, push the paddle forward under one of the tracks, say, "In the Name of God, return, '' and carefully lift the paddle, throw the dirt back over your left shoulder - that is, towards your home.]
Entry 5759
Now, yo' kin go in de woods an' DERE SOME LI'LE VINES DAT GROWS WHERE A LOTTA ROTTEN WOOD GROWS, STRINGY VINE WIT WORM-LAK HAIDS. YO'VE SEEN DESE KINDA EARTHWORMS WIT NO PAHTIC'LAH Well, dere's a vine grows in rotten wood in de earth, grows'mingled an' tangled wit de rotten wood. Both of 'ems [plant and animal has] got sharp ends. Yo' go an' git some of dat vine.
(What is the vine called?)
AH DON'T KNOW, IT JIS' COME UP IN DAT ROTTEN WOOD. AH RECKON AH WOULD CALL II DE ROTTEN-WOOD VINE, 'CUZ DERE NO OTHAH VINE GROW LAK DAT. [Take] dat vine an' take de same dust outa de instep. In othah words, git dat an' turn de person. Lak de person goin' dataway, yo' take de dirt outa his feet goin' backwards. Ketch it from 'is toes an' take it backward dat way, an' bary dem things aroun' de home. Put a li'le table salt in it. Dere yo' got 'em. Dose three compositions will drive 'em away outa de home.
(That will drive them out of the home.)
Entry 6071
Anything lak a man's wife is gone off an' he wanta git 'er back. Well, de way he git 'er back, why he take a stran' of hair out de mole of 'er haid, an' a stran' outa heah, an' put it in a needle whut chew sew wit. (A strand of hair from the top of her head and the hair from below.) An' stick it in a needle An' stick it up in de do'step. De mo' where she come out an' go ovah it, de mo' de mo' think about chew. So she can't leave him, she'll go back to him.
Entry 6099
Git de hair out chure haid an' mix it wit bluestone, red peppah, gunpowdah, thundah- strucken wood an' put it in a bottle an' bear [bury] it, an' dat'll give yo' headache for- evah an' eternal until yo' go some place an' see somebody an' git 'em to dig dat stuff up.
(What was that last thing you put in the bottle?)
Ah said, bluestone, gunpowdah, an' red peppah an' stops it up in a red bottle an' bear [bury] it. [I was trying to obtain a repetition of thundah-strucken wood, a rare term for the more usual liahtnina-struck wood (see p.599). Thundah-strucken wood of course is associated with the thunderbolt and thunderbolt hand (p.655). For thumderbolt see FACI, 1st ed., No.5380; 2nd ed., No.5786. Informant in present rite ismarked good]
Entry 6680
Yo' kin take nine new needles an' nine new pins an' nails - nine nails - an' put in a bottle. An' den yo' kin take one dese heah worm outa from undah de bottom [bark] see, think dey call 'em sawyah.
(Wood Sawyer?)
Yes sir. Dey got two little bills [horns] whut cuts in de wood. [These worms - the larvae of sawyers, several large longicorn bettles - bore large holes in timber or dead trees. Both worm and bettle are often called wood sawyers.] Put dat in dat bottle an' bury it down in de path where he walks. An' den, when he walk ovah dat, he'll ketch 'em in 'is foot. An' dat same worm [larva] whut chew see in dat bo'd, dat yo' put in dat bottle, jis' true as [what?]. [It will enter 'im an'] eat 'im up. [But this ailment can be cured.] Dat way [if you are in that condition] yo' got'a go tuh a root doctah de same way [as before]. Now a root doctor, he got'a take 'em out. A medical doctor don't do it.
(What would a root doctor do to get that worm out of him, I wonder.)
He goes an' git de root from de - dey call black haw an' red oak bark an' a stingin' nettle root. Put dat up in a bottle an' yo' got'a take. Dat stingin' nettle root, will run 'im out dere. [The other two help and also make 3 ingre- dients.]
(Well, what do you do with these roots? Make a tea of them or what?)
Yes.
Entry 6681
Yo' kin take a drop of frog blood, an' a drop of snake blood, an' a drop of dese here wood sawyahs. He's in dis ole rotten wood, wit a flat haid. (He's in the wood, sort of a worm. What color is the worm?) White, with a flat haid. Take dat blood an' put it on a sandwich an' give it tuh anybody; an' if dey eat dat, dose things will grow in 'em. (They take these drops from each one of these three things and put it on the sandwich, separately or what?) No, put 'em on dere tuhgethah.
Entry 6989
Ah heard dat if yo' kin git tuh a tree where de lightnin' struck an' if yo suffah wit toothache, well yo' take an' git one of dose splintahs outa dere an' pick yore tooth till it bleed an' it will cure de toothache.
Entry 7525
[A person] jis' died, yes. Git graveyard dirt, dig it off de head of a white man's grave. Undahstan', go tuh a white man's grave. Go out an' git some wood ashes - ashes burnt from wood, yuh know. [Wood ashes are the payment!] An' put it in de grave an' take about, aroun' about a half a tablespoonful of cayenne peppah, an' put it in through dat [graveyard dirt] an' stir it up - mix it all up. An' when yuh git dat mixed up, make dust out of it yuh undahstan', an' pass it on de hants. Called hants [al spirit, yo' know.
(What will they do with that? What will they do with that then?)
What will yuh do wit it?
(Yes?)
Well, de spirit, somepin like yore hants be - have de spirits. Git yuh dat dirt an' jis' sprinkle it aroun' yore place of business - round about, like dis house is [your place of business]. Well, yuh jis' sprinkle it all aroun' yore house, sprinkle it jis' dere [nowhere else].
(What will that do then?)
That will run 'em away.
(Run what away?)
De hants.
(The hants?)
Yes.
Entry 7695
Lak yo' go tuh de graveyard an' git a footbo'd, or prob'ly somepin simple as a ole piece of tree stump, or sompin lak dat, or some kin'a log out de graveyard. Dey could take dat an jes' t'row it right down in fron' of yore do'. Why yo' not payin' so much 'tention tuh it. Why yo' say, "Well, dat's only ole piece of wood." Somebody comes by an' say, "Look, [So-an'-so] yo' not goin' any bettah." [You become ill and are not improving.] An' dat'll make yo' move, too.
Entry 7928
Yo' go tuh de graveyard an' dat tree - lotsa times yo' know dere's elm trees in de graveyard. Yo' git dat wood an' yo' burns it in de fiahplace an' yo's be tantalizin' - ah don't know. But mah wife, she tolt [told] me dat. (You burn it in whose fireplace?) Jes' in de house, in yore fiahplace, yo' kin burn dat. Say, "Heah's a piece of wood." Go lay on dere [lay the wood in the fireplace] an' usely [usual- ly] dey moves out, dey can't stay. (If there are some of your neighbors that [disturb you], you want to make them move out, you get a piece of that wood and burn it in the fireplace?) Dat's right. [Sumter, S. Car., (1342), 2322:12.] [This final subsection (3) concludes section 10 on death and also ends the di- visional survey devoted to THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF. Had it been possible to separate all death material, including that in INTERVIEWS into a separate book, a more orderly arrangement of rites could have been found. Eyen so. prob- lems would still remain; symbolism and all those beliefs said to cause death.]
Entry 8000
Well, yo' takes de box an' make it jes' in de shape of a coffin. Well, he takes 'is knife an' he cuts in a man jes' de shape of a man. See, or jes' de shape of a woman, jes' whichevah one he wanted it tuh favor. Well, he takes dat an' puts it in dat little coffin. Takes 'im a pin an' takes 'im a pair of pliers, wire pliers an' cut de pin [head] off tes' deep enough tuh jes' suppose it wuz a little tack. Put dat man in dere, an' on dat man's back write whoevah name he want it tuh be on dere. Well, he takes dat, take an' carry it tuh dis man's house, if he kin git tuh 'is house at night, tuh whatevah dat yo' kin find, sech as flowahs an' hedges or anything lak dat. Dig yo' a hole as though it is a grave an' put it in dere an' covah it up. Well, in a few days he'll be daid.
(What do you cut that little figure from? What do you cut it out of?)
Well, yo' kin take a piece of elm wood. Fo' him tuh lingah a long time, yo' kin take a piece of elm wood or eithah a piece of ash wood, jes' whichevah is soft enough fo' yore knife tuh cut. An' cut it out of wood an' make it out of wood. An' make it outa wood an' take de pins an' evahthing an' jes' nail 'em in dere. It has tuh be exactly like a casket [coffin]. An' yo' don't have tuh fo'- git tuh put de man's name, whoevah it is dat chew's mad wit. Jes' put dat name on 'is back an' lay it right in dere.
Entry 8001
You can cut out of paper or you can cut them off from shingles and make the image of a person, and write the name and whatever you wish. Well, you can take this shingle and carry it and throw it in running water, or you bury it, or you can take it and hang it upon the side of a tree and let it blow away. That's if you want to run 'em away.
Entry 8745
Jes' go to de sunrise side of a tree an' graze dat side.
(Smooth the side off?)
Yes sir, an' take [these grazings from] dat side of de tree. Now if de person livin' dis direction, an' de sunrise dis, yo' take de sunrise side of dat tree - take dat off, see. Dey call his name. Take a horn, a cow horn, an' scrape a little off it an' put it in dat horn, an' den scrape some offa de sunrise side of dat tree; an' call his name an' every time yo' call it, yo' blow dat horn - about eight times. An' aftah de eight time - de eight times - like yo' blows it easy, an' de ninth, blows it loud as yo' wanta. But turn - if yo on dat side [see later explanation], yo' turn it dis side, if yo' want 'em come ack disaway. Yo' blow it, de dust out dat horn. He'll come home. (You blow that dust toward where he is and then he'll come back. If he's over Chere, you blow it this way to bring him back; if he's over in that direction, you slou the dust in the opposite direction to bring him back.) [A cow-horn expert will be needed to explain what happens here, just how the oov horn is held and handled. It has been 60 years since I saw and tried to blow a cow horn!] Jes' like he ovah dis side, yo' turn yore back an' blow de dust tuhward 'im. (You put htat - some scrapings from the cow horn in the horn and some scrap- igs from the tree into the horn, and blow it ou on the ninth time.) Yo' take de scrapings of de tree - go tuh de sunrise side - an' if he on de lgoin'-down [side] yo' work it from de sun-goin'-down, if he out dat way. See. 血 de way he is yo' gotta blow dat dust ovah heah. (But you must get these scrapings from the sunrise side of the tree, always, matter which direction he is?) Dat's right, take it from de sunrise side of de tree if he's... [I have had cmough and interrupt.] (Suppose he's at the sunrise side, then what side would I take it - now wait inute! Suppose he's on the sunrise side. Now what side of the tree would I te those scrapings from?) At de sunrise side. Take it from dis side, de west side, de sun-goin'-down. (Otherwise, in whatever direction he is - no matter what direction he's in - roa take these scrapings from the opposite side of this tree from where he is. Esean, you don't always take it from the sunrise side?) No sir.
(That's what I wanted to find out.)
It's foah [four] ways to dat, dat he kin go. (And you will take it from the opposite side of the tree from which he is - scrapings?) Yes.
Entry 8903
Jes' lak dey's steal somepin from yo' an' yo' wants tuh find out who is de one dat done it. Why yo' take an' git chew a piece of black gum [wood] an' burn dat wood till it come tuh a ashes. An' den yo' take dat ashes an' put it intuh a vial an' put some Hearts Cologne in dat vial where'bouts chew got dat ashes. An' yo' let dat sit dere fo' 'bout five days an' if dat cologne turns de color of dem ashes, why whosomevah stole dat stuff, dey bring it back. Now ah ain't nevah tried it but ah heah dat. [What would my informant in the State of Georgia call a black gum tree? Normally I would say the tree (Nyssa sylva- tica), which has closed-grained wood, entire leaves and small blue-black drupa- ceous fruits. This tree, growing east of the Mississippi River, is also called sour gum, tupelo, and pepperidge. Closely related is a tree (N. biflora) con- fined to the southern United States. The preceding tupelo, a word from the Creek Indian language meaning Swamp tree, could also mean any other tree of the genus Nyssa, especially N. aquatica of the southeastern United States. After this rite Was transcribed years ago I marked it doubtful because I could not understand how black-gum ashes were able to divine theft and make the thief return the stolen property. Later a possible answer came. In the Southern states years ago a bee- hive Was made from a section of a hollow gum tree. Surely the original ashes came from a piece of beehive supplying stinging power. Join this with intention.
Entry 8940
Somebody stealin' anything from you an' he passes.through de door - he's gotta, yo' know. Yo' take a axe an' go right over de door, on de inside an' on de outside, cut off little splinters, don't care how small it is. An' go right out into the yard where there's a cart, or a wagon or automobile or anything. If it's a automobile, you've got to jack the wheel up. Then yo' lose it so yo' kin pull it off de axle an' put de two splinters right in there, an' shove it right back on. An' yo' call this thief: Thief, turn your ways backwards. Oh, Thief, yo' shall be turned back. Yo' shall stand up in your track. Yo' shall not walk one inch front nor back until yo' come back an' bring my stolen' goods to me. Say that three times. An' stop asking him to bring it back and walk away. In less time than thirty minutes, yo'll see someone coming.
Entry 8942
No - if yo' know where - if dey went in de front do', yo' jes' cut a piece off dat do' an' yo' take it an' pull off a wheel - jack up de wagon an' yo' stick dat wood in dere [on the axle] an' yo' [restore wheel and] turn it to yo' all de time. Yo' turn dat wheel to yo' an' jes' [say], "Ah demand yo' to return dis stolen goods' or sompin lak dat. Dey'll come tuh yuh, yes sir [and return goods]. But chew cut a piece from de gate or any place which dey'd be in - git chew jes' a small piece - it don't have to be so large an' yo' turn de wheel. Turns it to yuh, if yo' would have dem come to yuh, which dey more den apt.
Entry 8944
" Jes' lak somebody take somepin outa dis room heah. Yo' kin take a knife an' trim off a li'le trimmin' off dat do' dere, where yo' go out. An' yo' kin take an' care [carry] it - go tuh a man who got a wagon an' take de left-hand reah [rear] wheel off. An' put dat on dat spindle where dat[wheel] turn ovah on - put dat trimmin' whut chew got off dat do'. An' put de wheel back on dere an' yo' say, Thief, return, an' yo' turn dat wheel far- vards three times an' den yo' turn it backwards. Say, Thief, return de stolen goods which was taken outen mah possession. An' in seven days he'll return dose goods back to yo' - money or anything else. An' if he haven't got de goods, he'll come an' tell yo' dat he'll pay yo' fo' dose goods.
Entry 9108
Ah heard dat jes' lak if yo' wuz tuh git in trouble, somepin lak, an' dey prob'ly let chew out on a bond. Well, ah hear'd dat chew would jis' go in de woods an' git chew de heart outa red oak tree. An' yo' takes de heart of dis tree an' yo' takes an' trims it down, an' yo' puts it in a bag, an' hangs it right ovah yore heart. An' den whenevah yo' git ready tuh go down fo' dem tuh try yuh or anything, says, "Now yo' have dese two hearts tuhgethah." Den dat'll be three hearts, yo know: his heart, yore heart an' de red-oak-tree's heart, supposed all tuh be as one. Well, yore mind is goin' be fo' tuh free yo', an' den, says dis heah heart of de tree will work wit de heart of de man. An' dey says, den dat'll cuz yore case tuh be lagged, cuz dem tuh give yuh lightah terms. (Well, now, what do you mean by the heart of the red oak? What do you mean by the heart?) De heart of de tree. See, yo' cuts de tree, cuts it down, jes' lak yo' cut it right down. Well, dey gits de middle outa dis tree. Yo' takes an' cuts a piece of dis heah tree, jes' trim it down an' shape it wit yore heart jes' lak a heart.
(You make it in the shape of a heart.)
Yo' take dis heah an' put it right ovah yore heart. Den yo' goes down tuh trial an' dese three hearts...
Entry 9808
Yo' take seven needles an' yo' take seven straight pins an' yo' take three nails. An' yo' kin take a quart of watah an' de stoppah tuh shet [shut] de quart bottle. An' y'o kin put dem dere seven needles an' dem dere straight pins an' dem three nails in dat quart of watah. An' yo' put dat stoppah in dere. Stop it up, but don' try tuh stop it tight. An' yo' place it at sun risin' undah yore baid. An' if yo' wanta kill a puh- son - lak yo' wanta kill 'im- yo' kin hit dat stoppah wit a hammah. But yo' don' want no iron hammah, yo' wants a kinda wooden hammah, yo' undahstand. [Wooden hammer is rare in HOODOO.] An' yo' hit dat a certain many times evah mawnin' tuh kill a puhson, an' yo' hit it one time aftah it's gone down, dat sun, jes' tuh lingah dat person - jes' tuh put 'im sick, where he be Bo mo good, jes' lingahin'. An' when dem needles rust out, he rust out. It won't kill 'im right away. Take dem nails an' needles in dat quart bottle, an' yo' kin hit dat stoppah three times where de sun rise an' in seventeen days he'll be daid.... [Here I turned off machine too quickly and had to reopen conversation with a qoestion.1
(Where do you put this bottle then? Do you put it under the victim's bed?)
No sir, yo' put it undah yore baid, an' when yo' hit dat, take it out evah sasnin'-time yo' git up, an' hit dat stoppah an' jes' call [the name of] which ane yo' wanta do [kill]. If yo' want 'im tuh lingah, yo' kin hit dat stoppah ane time, as de sun goin' down, de sun settin' in de weat; an' if yo' wanta Hul 'im, yo' kin hit it early in de mawnin' three times.
Entry 10281
Take nine wood lices, little ole white looking things, an' yo' kin take an' parch 'em an' rub 'em in de seat of yore [his] britches an' he won't evah mess wit nobody else.
Entry 11307
Take cat or dog hair an' take a piece of wood an' split de Wood. Stick de hair in dis wood an' nail it down at chure back steps, an' de dog will nevah leave home 'lessen someone taken dat away.
Entry 11323
Ah heard dat yo' could go tuh a dogwood tree an' cut de no'th side of it, an' de s'uth side of it; see, if somebody comin' tuh yore house dat chew want tuh stay 'way from dere. If yo' cut dat tree tuh de no'th side an' de s'uth side, dwy would sta y'way. Ah've heard dat. (How do you mean cut it?) Jes' cut it wit a knife, split it up. Stick it down an' split it up. Yo' know, jes' be cuttin' it, de bark off upon each side of de tree. [Wilson, N. Car.,. (1479), 2658:15.]
Entry 12309
(Where do they put that?)
At de fo'k of de road. (Then they use it for any kind of work they want to do, this lightning-struck wood?) On de sunrise side. Whatevah side de sun rise. Dey put it dere at exactly sunrise. When de sun peekin' ovah de eastern hills dey puts it down. Yeah, dey moves jes' as dey mind tells 'em to move it. Dey doesn't leave it dere all de time. Dey keeps dat wood. [This "pro- fessional worker" I call him is saying there are no set rules.]
Entry 12312
Ah kin take three stobs outa dat [lightning-struck] tree, de same one, an' dem concemin' of another thing. Den yo' kin use dose de side of de house or inside of it, or wherevah dey passes ovah. An' aftah dey goes ovah dat, dey gits tied up wit pain. An', too, ag'in, 'lessen yo' kin find anothah fellah [doctor] in three days, dey'll be contin'ly [in pain] - nevah be cured of it till you [some doctor] find dat. Ah know a man in mah own neighborhood, he gits de wood off a tree struck by lightnin' an' dat officer come right down fur as de lot, but as fur comin' in... [This policeman did not enter man's house, did not set foot on man's land.]
Entry 12314
Ah heard dat yo' kin go tuh de tree where lightnin' strike an' git three splinters or jes' as many splinters off de tree as yo' got corner at chure house, [like] corner of yore yard, yo' know. An' git some bluestone an' vaseline an' bluestone. Mix it tuhgethah an' grease dis lightnin'-strike splinter an' peg it at each corner of yore house. See, fo' tuh keep polices an' things from roun' yore house. Dat's whut dat's fo'. Ah know dat's good.
(So no one will bother you in your home?)
Dat's it.
Entry 12315
Dey's go down to de fo'ks of de road where it'd [it would] fo'k like dis [demonstrates] an' have yo' some thunder-lightning pegs - lighted [lightning] pegs where de thunder knocked a piece off de tree. Take it [piece of wood] an' make pegs - nine pegs. An' drive 'em in de fo'ks of de road an' call on God an' de devil to hear yo' drivin', an' make dem people turn. Dey goin' another way, won't go out dat way. [To change a person's mind at the crossroads is not a rare rite.] (You call upon the person that you don't want to go out that way.) [Man for centuries could not understand primitive man's tools such as arrowheads, and since they were sometimes found under a tree, a lightning-struck one, it became a thunderbolt. That tree could have grown up 1000 years after the arrowhead had been lost! See the woman looking for a thunderbolt to ease her rheumatism, warm up her bones, in Folklore from Adams County Illinois, Ist ed., No.5380, 2nd ed., No.5786. Also see HOODOO, v.1, Nos.635, 2336 & 2337.]
Entry 12319
Yo' take some wood from a tree where de lightnin' struck an' throw it on yore hearth, make yore wishes, an' dere be wrath in dere all de time. An' yo' take dat light- nin'-struck tree an' throw it under dere house, dey'll have tuh move. Dey can't stay dere. (When you throw that piece of wood on the fireplace there will be fighting in the house all the time?) Yes sir.
Entry 12320
Well, any kinda tree but de lightnin' have tuh be done struck it.
(Well, what would they do about that?)
Well, jes' lak now if yo' prob'bly be mah next-do' neighbah an' ah can't git along wit chew or sompin of de kind in no way ah do, an' ah wants tuh move yo' from dere, an' de light- nin' done struck a tree or sompin lak dat. Ah jes' go dere an' take a ole piece of wood - jes' a ole slab or sompin off dere - sompin lak dat chew know an' throw it anywhere round yore house an' yo' gotta go.
Entry 12321
Git a piece of, yo' know jes' de lightnin' strike a tree or sompin othah lak dat. Tell me yo' kin git a ole piece of wood yo' know, from de tree yo' know, where de lightnin' has struck, an' throw it underneath dere house an' dey tell me dey'll move.
(They will move away.)
Entry 12322
Ah tell whut lightnin' will do. If yo' take - if de lightnin' struck a tree, yo' kin take dat tree when de lightnin' struck it an' run anybody 'way from dere dat chew wanta. (How would they do that?) Why aftah de lightnin' strike de tree, then yo' take that wood an' yo' bury that wood under the people's step where they walk ovah it, an' that will walk 'em away.
Entry 12323
It bad luck if yo' burn dat wood. (That lightning-struck wood.) Somebody certain in de family tuh die dat yeah, if dey burn dat wood dat wuz struck by lightnin'. It be awful bad luck tuh do dat, burn dat in yore house.
Entry 12324
Yo' could use de strucken wood, de wood where it strucken by lightnin', an' dey said dat dey use it on a person an' dey said dat dis person will soon die.
(How would you use it on a person?)
Well, jes' go tuh work an' make a tea an' put de tea tuh de bread, from de same wood. Jes' take it an' put it in a pot an' boil it, an' give de person de tea. Or eithah jes' mix it in whatsomevah dey eat. From lightnin'-strucken [wood]. (Well, what about burning the wood. Did you say something would happen about that?) If dey burn de wood, de person will soon die.
(Who Would soon die?)
Whosomevah goes tuh work an' use de wood. Well, if dey use it In de Name of de Lord, dey couldn't take it, dey say. But yo' kin use it fo' whut chew wanta use it fo'.
Entry 12326
Said yo' could git a piece where de lightnin' struck. (A piece of wood from a tree that the lightning struck.) An' put on yore pot [put pot on fire] an' put it [lightning-struck wood] in dere an' boil it, an' scour [the bed] wit it in March, an' it will kill out de bugs, de chinches [bedbugs].
Entry 12327
Sho', de splinter from a tree [struck by lightning] is lucky fo' a gamblin' han' an' de toothache. As fur as de gamblin' han' ah don't know direct, 'cause ah don' gamble; but peoples dat have had de toothache have veri- fied dat statement dat it is good.
Entry 12569
An' yo' kin take fo' pegs, yo' know. An' cut little pegs an' put 'em round yore house an' put 'em down out dere an' say 'bout "De Lord is mah shep- herd.... An' de sher- iff - ah don't care how much likker an' stuff yo' sell, dey won't even come round. Don't care whut chew do dere, dey won't come to yore house.
(How many pegs do you put down?)
Jest git chew some little wooden pegs.
(How many did you say?)
Foah - an' peg on each side of yore yard, an' de sheriff won't even come no- where round dere. [The pegs are at the 4 cardinal points of the compass.]
Entry 12726
Them goes to work and git a rabbit - a wood rabbit foot - and put salt on it and wrop it up tight and he nevah tell you no. (The boss won't.) No. You must go de same day [you catch rabbit]. If you kin know de day yo' birth, dey bery day yo' birth, go dat day. President Roosevelt can't tell you no. [Even President Franklin D. Roosevelt could not refuse you.]
(What foot do you take?)
Right one.
(Which one, front or back?)
De one in de front, de front foot.
Entry 13243
Well, whut she do to make him stay, she take a teaspoonful of wood ashes an' a teaspoonful of spice, an' a teaspoonful of sugar, an' put it in de bed whbre he sleeps at. If he sleep on it he'll stay there.
Entry 13326
De way ah've heard it now, dey split de tree - a little small sap- ling. Dey jes' split dat tree an' yo' kin take de trimmin'. Jes' lak yo' split it - yo' split de tree an' yo' cut out inside dere. Yo' take yore pocketknife an' yo' cut out de trimmin' 股中商 outa dere. An' den yo' take dat trimmin' an' den yo' go an' yo' - jes' lak a person dat chew see dat chew kere [care] fo' lak dat. Well yo' take de trimmin' outa dat an' yo' slip it in some of his clothes - yo' know, anywhere in de individual's clothes dat he wears regularly. Yo' understand, sew it up in his bindin' an' dey tell me dat'll bind two [one] couple together [you know] make dem cleave to one another. Dat's fur as ah evah hear of dat.
(What does that tree do then?)
Well, dat tree grows - yo' know, hit'll go back together, yo' understand me.
Entry 583
Then they had another one they called John the Conquer. It wus made in a little - somepin wus cut in [out of] wood about as big as my thumb. An' the bottom of it wus about as big as my two fingers an' the top wus like my thumb. It wus about that [several inches] long. It looked like it wus jis' a roun' little piece of wood cut out with a neck to it. The bottom wus heavy an' the top wus light. Well, he had somepin in that bottom there [as a weight] I reckon. I don't know whut he had in there. Anyway, you'd [he'd] take it an' set it up an' Says, "Now, So-an'-So - where is he? Which a-way he a-goin'?" He'll be settin' there. "Which a-way Sich-an'-sich?" He'll call your name. An' it'll rock which a-way you goin'. I don't know how it did it. But it'd rock which a-way you're goin'. An' he said, "How long he gon'a be gone?" If it would make two bows, he said it wus a hour each bow.
Entry 1329
Yo' kin take a young hick'ry dat grownin', lak yo' see in de spring, yo' see. An' it's jes' grownin' up good an' yo' say, "Well" - supposed mah name John." "Now, ah want John tuh go down, keep his haid down, keep outa mah business anyway." Twist dat limb - twist it until ah could, so ah could tie it. Den ah tie it - jes' lak ah tie a string an' den jerk it an' den stick de point of it in de ground an' don' look back an' go out 'bout chure business. An' he'll git out of yore business.
Entry 1667
I was living in an old house up on the railroad and every night there 'used to come a knocking. And if I would knock three times, it would knock three times. So I went and told my father I was going to move from up there. So he told me to get two pieces of new lumber that never was a nail in and put a piece over the front door and back door. I never heard it any more.
Entry 1671
Yo' buy three bo'ds of new lumber an' nail two on de outside of yore house an' one in de house with new nails, an' dey say de ghosts will nevah come there.
Entry 1673
If some party's dead and dey don't like you, wal, dey worry yuh. Yo' Wanta go git chew a brand-new piece of bo'd and you wanta put it in yore house; yo'll puts it on de outside of your house - got'a put fo' nails in it, one to de fo' corners. Dere's fo' corners to a bo'd. Put fo' nails in dat and throw it in de house and call dat person name and dere won't be nobody worry yuh no more.
(You throw it in the house?)
Throw it underneath the house.
(But you nail it into the house first, outside.)
Yeah, yo' nail it outside.
(Then you throw it into the house?) [This into probably intentional.]
Den yo' throw it underneat' de house and nuthin nevah worry yuh no mo'.
Entry 1675
Nail a bo'd clear around. See, dat's tuh keep 'em from comin' cross any way atall - a new piece of bo'd all de way round de house. An' dey says dere cain't no ghost cross it - new lumber. [New lumber completely round the house, often a small cabin, would mean either laths or small slabs from small lumber. This belief comes from the second of the two boy-qirls (because they wore men's slacks) I interviewed - see comment on hermaphrodites in Introduction.]
Entry 1676
Any time dat lightnin' strike a tree, why yo' kin take a piece of dat, yo' see, an' use it fo' any kind of pains lak dat. (How would you use it?) Well, yo' boil it yo' see an' yo' wash yoreself, bathe in it.
Entry 1689
Ah heard that if yo' wanta keep anybody from hurtin' yo' with roots, tuh go to a lightnin'-struck tree an' cut yo' off a piece of it an' don't let it touch de ground until yo' git ready tuh put it in de ground. Be sure yo' hold it whilst yo' cut it an' don't let it hit de ground. An' cut chew off fo' splinter, split chew fo' stakes of it an' carry dem home with yo' an' drive dem fo' stakes to de fo' corners of yore house, an' dere won't be no danger of nobody puttin down any roots or anything roun' yore place to hurt chew.
Entry 1694
If yo' use de wood of a lightnin'-striked tree - if yo' use de wood, de lightnin' Would strike yore house.
Entry 2381
Some people, if they wants you to like 'em, they'll take a piece of green wood.
(Green wood?)
Wood.
(Any kind of wood?)
Pine wood. Take pine wood and go to the store and buy me a file, brand-new file. Say, they took a brand-new file and drove it through the piece of wood and break it. Put it there nine places - just driv it in there as far as they Want to and break it off. Put it there many times as she want and break it off. See, now, you got nine pieces in there, broke off you know fine - you know, small file it'll break. And after you broke it off, then you goes to the well and drops it in the well. Well, it sinks. You ever seen a well?
(Yes - in the ground, a deep well.)
Drop it in the well. Well, it sinks, goes on the bottom and lays on the bottom, stays there until that well is cleaned out. Only way you kin get clear of it - the water gets low in dere, you will notice it there and go there and clean it out. Well, that will make a man just love you - like you - keep you - never wants to leave you - will never want you to leave there. He will send for you, I don't care where you are at. (That is in connection with a job, you mean, if you are working for this man. Or if a woman wants to keep a man.) Sir?
(Does a woman do this to a man, or does a man do this to hold a job?)
A man to hold a job. [Surely a love rite.]
Entry 7370
I have heard that, if a person is murdered in a house and there is a bloodstain on the floor, it remains there unless you take that piece of wood out.
[New York City, by Ediphone, informant No.3, probably from Virginia.]
Entry 12311
Well, dat's de greates' ah evah heah about. Dey said dat if yo' take de lightnin'-wood an' go in a crowd of mens, yo' know rowdies, yo' take de splinters of a lightnin' tree. Git de splinters an' stick 'em an' yore teeth swell up: An' yo' go dere an' everybody will fear yo'. Yo' kin rampage an' nobody won' say nuthin to yo'. Dey scared of yo'. [These splinters are also a protection, see following rite.]
(Just take these two splinters from a tree that is struck by lightning.)
Take de splinters an' put 'em in yore teeth. [This means that the two ends of the splinters are sticking out of his mouth.]
Entry 12328
If yo' bum dat wood from de tree dat de lightnin' strike, it will set de house afire. [Fayetteville 2599:10.]
Entry 12330
An' if yo' put a piece of wood de lightnin' struck in yore pocket, yo' cain't be shot; cain't be shot by no man, if yo' tote dat in yore pocket.
[Algiers 2954:9.]
Entry 361
They say you kin go to the huckleberry bush - the devil's huckleberry bush - ever' Sunday morning fer nine Sunday morning, an' on the ninth Sunday morning, why, when he goes theah, he stays theah a while an' he cuts up [clowns] an' waits an' sings songs, an' aftah while the devil meets 'im. He hears a great ruslin' [rustling] in de leaves an' things, then the devil comes up. [A great ruslin' in de leaves shows the devil arriving in a whirlwind - see Nos. 167-183, and No. 355.] The devil comes up - him an' de devil has a talk - an' dey talk togethah, stayed theah an' talked togethah a while. Then aftah dat he sells hisself to the devil. Then the devil tells 'im he kin do jis' whut he please - nothin' won't hurt him, he would not have to work hard, an' de likes of that. Then he goes back [home]. An' den when he goes to work, why some ole man hires 'im - some white man hires 'im to work fer 'im. One day he wus settin' in the woods, cuttin' wood, haulin' logs, an' one thing anothah. Well, he goes in the woods an' goes to work. An' he works theah an' goes up that night an' he tells his master how much wood he had cut or how many logs he had mauled [split with a maul and wedge into cordwood]. Well, he didn't believe he had done all that work, so he makes up his mind that he would watch. So one day when he went out to work, why the man that bossed, he kin'a watched at 'im. So, aftah he went to work, why he went out theah an' hid himself. An'. he heard the axes a-goin', cuttin', an' chips a-flyin', an' de logs an' wood a-bustin'. He watched an' he start to creppin' [creeping] through the woods an' got a little closer to 'im. Seein' 'im, he wus settin' upon a stump whettin' his axe, whistlin', singin' - he had some little things theah playin' with. Well, them boys wus workin'! He had a crowd of 'em theah workin'! The logs wus a- flyin', they's pilin' up wood an' cordin' wood. It scared the ole man. He couldn't see nobody with 'im until he got right theah. He could see all these here little boys theah a-workin'. When he got there all these scattered. He went back - went back in the house. An' aftah while he come up, he tole 'im whut he had done. So this ole white man he got scared of 'im. So he discharged 'im. [FeW present-day readers can appreciate the activity here, the cording of wood. I have never cut a cord of wood but I have watched axmen cut and cord, and I have carried many cords cut up into the usual three sticks. Those devil's imps began work by driving down into the ground two solid stakes about two feet six inches apart and four feet high; then, eight feet away and parallel, two similar stakes were driven down, thus:--------: Wood was then cut into four- foot lengths - smaller logs round, large ones split - and stacked between these four stakes, so that the stack or pile filled this 132 cubic feet space; 128 being wood, the other 4 air space.]
Entry 383
A house set on the hill and a spring was in the bottom and a tree was nearby the spring. And everybody who lived in that house, the ghost would meet them on the way to the spring and would talk to them. This ghost would follow them to the spring and tell them about the money but they were afraid to talk to him. This was supposed to be the ghost of the person who put the money in the tree and died before he got it out. A fellow followed this ghost to the spring and the ghost told him to cut in the tree with an axe. He cut in the tree but found nothing. The ghost told him again to cut the tree down. And he did. He found a pot of money in the tree and became to be a wealthy man.
Entry 1666
I say Clark built dis house. It wears de name Clark Hotel, an' had he of died wit displeasure an' lost it by death, an' yo' buy it an' come in an' he don't want chew to have it, dey say yo' replace some place on it wit new bo'ds - dat'll keep him away. (That will keep his spirit away.) [All interviewing was done at Clark Hotel (colored); whether within the city limits of St. Petersburg, I do not know. We passed through Memphistown (Negro settlement) to reach it - see No. 214, p.60.]
Entry 4410
[Instead of the hole and peg into a tree, sometimes a splinter makes the hole and serves as a peg.] Dere two ways yuh kin lock dey bowels up. One way tuh lock a person's bowels, yuh kin take a sharp splintah. Jis' take yuh knife an' jis' sharpen up a splin- tah, see. Yuh kin git a little bit of de stuff yuh know on dat splintah. (The bowels?) Dat's right. An' take it down in de woods tuh some tree or 'nothah an' yuh take an' yuh drive 'em in dere. Co'se yuh got'a take an' bo' yuh a hole in dere. Drive it in dere den. When yuh drive it in dere, why yuh done lock 'em. [The second method, not given here, may be elsewhere in the text.]
Entry 5049
Oh, yes sir, dey could take yore socks. Dey could take yore socks an' git a augah, an' carry it in de woods an' bore a hole intuh a tree, an' stick it [socks] in dat hole an' stop it up airtight, see. Well, yuh wouldn't be no mo' good in yore limbs de balance of yore days.
(I see, you would be sort of a cripple.)
[The author is either rebuked or considered naive:]
YUH WOULDN'T BE SORTA CRIPPLE, YUH WILL BE CRIPPLE - likely tuh be Paralyzed, yuh cain't do nuthin.
Entry 7218
Well dey go tuh de store an' git dese wire nails. Ah calls 'em tins [made of tin or tenpenny?]. An' dey git de lengt' of de man an' de lengt' of de Woman, from up here at de haid all de way down tuh de foot. Well den wrap dat man tuh yuh lak dat [demonstrates].
(Wrap this length - the string around to you, all around this nail.)
Yes, de string tuh yuh lak dat, aroun' dis nail clean until yo' wrap it right even wit de point. Den yo' take it an' nail it right down in de centah of yuh do' an' make yuh wishes. Yo' say, "Jis' as ah drive dis nail down heah ah means fer yo' tuh stay here." An' he goin' stay dere. How ah know about dat, ah got mah husban' nailed down right now. Dat's how ah know.
(Now, you say...)
[I am interrupted.]
Right now.
(Well, does it work? Well, how did you get his length?)
While he asleep. Ah got one fer me an' one fer 'im nailed right in de centah of de do'.
(And you wrap both these strings together right around the nail?)
Tuh yuh, wrap 'is tuh yuh an' yours tuh yuh, too. An' den when yo' wrap down tuh de bottom of de nail, stick it right down tuh de centah of de do', an' hit it nine times an' let de ninth lick drive it up tuh de haid.
(In the wood?)
In de wood. (In wrapping these strings around, do you wrap them both together or first one and then the other?) No, wrap de man's first, den mine.
Entry 12313
Ah learnt dat you could take dat dere wood from a tree right where de lightnin' struck, turn in an' go dere an' git chew three pieces, tree lil' small pieces. An' take three [silver] dimes made in de same yeah. Take three dimes an' dat piece of wood, an' put dem dere three pieces, an' put one dime 'neath dat piece of wood [demonstrates] an' de next dime right next tuh de next top piece of wood, an' de next dime right in de bottom in de jar. An' take it tuh de watah an' throw it in de watah, an' says, Ah hope yo' come back tuh me, In Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost, come back. Let it go in de watah. Yo' see, yo' throw dat jar an' hit'll go so fur downstream, an' dat jar will turn roun' an' come back an' go in de bank where nobody will git dere han's on it. Dat jar will come back. Or eithah yo' kin take it lak dis: Yo' kin take a brick an' put it in dat jar wit dat, dat money an' dat piece of wood from de lightnin'-struck tree, an' it will stay down undah de watah three days. Dat's de best, it will stay undah de watah three days. Well, when dem three days out, she's back tuh yo'.
(This is bringing somebody back?)
Dat's right.
(Where do you get these dimes - get them out of your own pocket?)
Yeah, jes' go down an' try tuh git de dimes made in de same yeah.
Entry 1692
Git brimstone an' den git - dere's somethin' grows in de woods dey call Indian turnip or Indian potatuh [jack-in-the-pulpit] - it looks lak a.
(I know - kind of like a potato?)
Yes. Well, dey takes that an' goes in de woods where de lightnin' strike a tree - if it's a dead tree it's all right an' if it's a green one, jes' so de lightnin' strike it an' scatter de splinters, de splinters jes' fly in diff'rent directions. Dem splinters will go in diff'rent directions an' den yo' must take dem splinters after yo' pick up 'em an' den burn 'em till yo' git de ashes, an den compound dat 'tater up wit it an' put dem two together an' sprinkle dat roun' de house. Well, he can't come up there.
(That is if anybody is trying to put anything down for you - harm you.)
Yes - dat'll change his mind, that will kill it, he can't come ovah it.
(That will kill what he puts down?)
Yessuh, he jes' can't come ovah it.
Entry 2395
Someone who used to live on the Riprap Road found a box at the gate one morning and brought it to my house and said, "Look what I dug up at my gate." I said to her, "What's in it?" And she opened it and there was pins in there and needles and some of her hair and sulphur in a bag in there and a piece of red flannel that had four sticks sewed up into that and a dime into it. It was a wooden box about that long. (Eight inches long and four inches wide.) [Probably a cigar box - symbolic coffin.] She said she was going to take it and see who put it there, she was going to take it over to Norfolk to a fortuneteller. And when she came back she told me that her husband put it there. That's what the fortuneteller told her.
Entry 2483
Ah wanta tell yo' now, ah run a bo'din' house once fo' a ole lady dat stayed dere, an' she went to de fo'ks of de road an' got de dirt outa de middle of de road - don't chew understand me. Den she took some bluestone an' saltpeter an' brimstone - git it all at de drug sto' an' then she takes them an' beats it up fine an' puts it into that pot an' some splinters ovah it.
(What pot?)
To a small pot whut'll hold 'bout two or three quarts.
(Of water?)
Yes. No, no - of de sand, don't chew understand from out de middle of de road. Yeah, de sand is under de bottom of dis heah, under de bottom of dese splinters an' dis heah stuff whut she sprinkles ovah dat, an' den she po's a little kerosene ovah dat an' burns it about three a'clock in de mornin' befo' day. That is to git roomers in her house. Yeah, dat has come from de fo'ks of de road. (She would put this dirt in the pot an' then she mixes this other stuff with that dirt.) That's it - de saltpeter, bluestone an' brimstone. (So that I understand perfectly what it is about: she brings this dirt back from the forks of the road, she puts it in this little pot, then she gets these various things and puts on top of this dirt.) Beats it all up together. (And puts it on top of the dirt in the Pot; then she lights this stuff, this mixture - burns it.) Yeah - three a'clock in de morning.
Entry 4416
[They would] have a passage. Yuh know whut ah mean. Well, dey would take de top of dat off of dat, bo' a hole in a tree or stop it up in a bottle. Well den, DERE AIN'T NO DOCTOR IN DE WORL' CAN MOVE YUH BOWELS, nOne in de Worl' cannot move yuh bovels. Yuh bowels is locked!
Entry 6468
They can take your toenails and fingahnails an' see, like mah nails mog, they could harm me purtty much for this simple reason. They're dirty. See, they are not all that much long, they are dirty. Well, they would take this nail and they would cut these nails as close as they poss'bly could with the dirt a'all into 'em. If they could get to my toes, they'd do my toes de same iden- tical way. Now, they take these nails here, an' mah toenails an' they'd put them together. If they could get a lizard, they'd take a lizard an' they'd kill the lizard an' let that lizard dry.
(They take a lizard and kill the lizard?)
They kill the lizard.
(Oh, they kill the lizard.)
An' let him dry - I mean, till he gets to a powder. When he gets to a pow- der, they mixes him with these nails of mine. They'd put that into a piece of red flannel and they buries that. AN' NOW, WHEN THEY BURIES THAT, THEY BURIES IT WITH A CROSS.
(What kind of a cross?)
THEY MAKES A CROSS THEYSELF. THEY DON'T VERY SELDOM BUY A CROSS. YOu know, ordinary, plain - just a plain cross, wooden cross; just any kind of a small cross you'll use, just since it's a cross. They buries it with a cross into that flannel. See? Well, now, when they buries that, why they got me just the Way they want me.
Entry 7410
A undahtakah parlah or jes' some place where dey makin' shrouds fo' de dead.
(Get this where they are making a shroud for the dead.)
Yes, an' get dat needle an' take dis needle what dey use. Break dis needle, drive it into some place, some piece of wood or anythin', in yore place, in yore house, anywhere yo' wish to, ON YORE ALTAR in de place, set it up on somepin. An' yo' wishes fo' 'im to return on such an' such a date, an' he will return, so I am told. (Anybody's return or this man that killed someone?) Dey want dat othah man, de one dat killed 'im.
(I see.)
Entry 8054
Well, yo' take a bone, say dis wrist bone here [demonstrates].
(The left wrist.)
Yeah. Yo' take de left wrist. If it's a evil person, say like some fellahs ah might recite yuh [or their] name fast: "George Bohall," "Up-jump, de Devil" [etc.]. All dose fellahs had police records, bad. Dey got kilt, dey died bad. Dey had tuh hold 'em down. Well, yo' take his bone an' yo' would bring it ovah tuh de house, an' yo' have what yo' call de dead pot.
(Dead what?)
Have a little pot about dat high, what de women use fo' po'in' [pouring] on.
(For what?)
Fo' po'in' on, tuh keep dere comb warm when dey are straight'en' [straight- ening] women's hair. Well, dey got a small little pot lak dat. It's a little stove, yo' know.
(Yes.)
Well, yo' take dat bone from dat evil spirit [the spirit of the bad man killed] an' yo' take it dere, an' yo' git some good whiskey. Yo' know, an' if he died a drunk. Dose are people dat yo' know [about], yo' know where dey grave, buried at, an' yo' go tuh dat most pahticlah [particular] grave an' git dat bone. Yo' put dat on de fiah an' yo' boil dat. Now, yo' set three hick'ry sticks across dere an' yo' set dat right on top of dat bone. Aftah yo' set dat on dat bone, why yo' take whiskey an' yo' po' ovah 'im, po' ovah dat mos' pahticlah bone. An' aftah yo' po' it ovah 'im, yo' demand 'im tuh go an' kill So-an'-so-an'-so.
(I see.)
An' dey goes on an' yo' do's de work.
(I see.)
Or else, yo' wanta, say, run 'im ovahbo'd [make him jump overboard], let 'im, let a automobile run ovah 'im. Yo' always place him in a place dat he'll git kilt.
(I see. You cross those hickory sticks?)
Cross 'em across. (And then when you - this [I demonstrate] is your pot. Are the bones in the pot?) No, dat's what de sticks are dere fo'. Supposin' de pot about dis size [dem- onstrates]. Well, yo' place [demonstrates] one here, one dere, an' one here. An' den yo' place de bone right 'cross dere lak dat [demonstrates].
(Oh, across the sticks.)
Across de sticks. Dat is tuh [I interrupt]...
(Then what do you do with the pot?)
Well, yo' mos'ly use a li'le turpentine an' linseed oil in dat pot - turpen- tine an' linseed oil in dat pot. But yo' start yuh fiah slow, jis' so, so she [pot] make an ord'nary steam. Dat is tuh keep a certain pressure on 'im. Den yo' demand 'im wit controllin' powah, say, "Ah demand yo' wit controllin' powah tuh go ovah an' do such-an'-such a thing. Go ovah an' kill Such-an'-such a one." An' yo' [the spirit] must do so. (I see.) [New Orleans, La., (819), 1171:2.] [As we have seen, there are many substitutes for the human body: (l) anything that came from the body, such as blood, semen, urine, excrement, sweat, spit, hair, fingernails, toenails, and footskin; and (2) anything that has touched the body, especially clothes. In this division we shall examine three entities that are not a part of the body and yet preeminently represent it - photograph and name and letters and handwriting. Of these three, name already has occurred so many times in the preceding rites, I shall start here with photograph.]
Entry 8148
Yo' kin take a person's pichure an' put it on a new piece of lumbah, an' put it up undah yore do'step, an' put a piece of dere hair in de toadfrog mouth, an' drive a nail in hit, in de toadfrog heart an' de pi- chure heart, on de new piece of lumbah whut chew got drive down. Drive a peg through 'is heart an' through de heart of de tin- type pichure. An' aftah dat toadfrog die, yo'll die. An' put dat up undah yore do'step so yo'll come out ovah it evah mawnin'. When dat toadfrog die, yo'll die. (You put this picture on a new piece of lumber, then you put the frog on the picture. Then you drive a nail [or peg] right through the hearts of all of them.) Right through both of 'em heart an' put a hair out 'is haid in 'is [toad- frog's] mouth.
Entry 8333
Dey kin take an' bo' a hole in de side of a tree an' dey kin kill yo' wit dat. Bo' a hole wit a brace an' bit chew know, 'bout dat size [demonstrates] an' take a piece of wood an' plug it up in dere. (What do you put in that hole?) Put de pichure in dere, den take a piece of wood an' drive it in an' plug it up.
Entry 8786
If you want to make a person jis' drift an' jis' become a vagabond going here and there an' nevah content in one place, yo' write dere name wit evil wishes on a teeny piece of board, wood joo know, thin board, an' yo' git choo a lots of nails an' put anothah piece on. Dere name is tacked on dat first piece of board. An' den yo' put a thin piece of board on top of dat an' nail it down fine, jis' put plenty nails in rotation. An' at 12 o'clock at night yo' throw dat in de rivah, an' as dat board floats an' drifts down de stream, why dat person will drift. Dere mind will become unsettled an' dey'll jis' go to an' fro.
Entry 9856
Dey tell me yo' git - yo' go tuh de sto' an' yo' git chew a five-cent box of tacks, bran'-new tacks. An' yo' take one-a dese tacks outa dis box an' yo' put it on de woodwork - anywhere on de woodwork of de house, an' yo' drive dem. An' yo' say, "Ah'm drivin' mahself tuh stay heah jes' as long as ah wanta stay." An' de las' three drives yo' drive, say, "Ah drive it in In de Name of de Fathah de Son an' de Holy Ghost." Yo' kin stay right dere until yo' git ready tuh leave.
(No one can move you out of that house until you are ready.)
Yo' stay right dere long as yo' wanta.
Entry 12316
Dey say yo' can't burn it. Dey say yo' can't burn dat wood because it will pop so bad in de house. Dey use dat. Yo' can take some of dat wood an' go to a person house an' somewhere or 'nothah, stick it down, yo' know, drive it down dere 9 times somewhere in his path, where he goes through an' go ovah. Dat will throw him into heartburn.
(This wood from the lightning-struck tree?)
Yes, de wood from a lightnin'-struck tree.
Entry 7
I heard a white man tell this. I don't know whether it is true or not. He said this old lady, she was a witch, her name was Smith. He said he missed the ties that come out from under the streetcar track - he had a lot of old ones in his back yard - so he watched one night to see where they went. He said that old Mrs. Smith came over and got on one and rode it as a horse into her yard. It went right off the ground through the air. He said the next day he went over there - he was afraid of her anyhow - he said, "Mrs. Smith, where did you get this log at?" And she said, "Where do you think I get it at?" And he said, "You rode that log over here last night." She said, "You'd better get out of here or I'll ride you like I did the log." And he said he left, too. We were all scared to death of that old woman.
The log appears in dialogue inside a reported story whose narrator explicitly says its truth is unknown.
Entry 4414
If yuh want tuh tie a man up, yuh kin tie his entrails up. Yuh kin take an' git a little of 'is manure an' rub it on a string, a new string, a new piece of homespun, an' tie nine knots in it. When yuh tie dem nine knots, yuh see, dat'll tie his stomach up, if she'll tie it in de same knots. An' see, den hang it up in a tree, yuh undah- stan'. An' [or] yuh kin take a person's passage an' put it in a piece of new cloth an' bo' a hole in a tree an' stick it in dat tree. When yuh do dat, yuh done stop 'im from havin' a action - I HE CAN'T HAVE NINE IN DIS WORL' [he will be dead before 9th action].
The source names a tree; no wood species or processed timber is identified.